Joystick Controller

ABSTRACT

A joystick controller includes a printed circuit board defining a plurality of pads thereon, a restraining assembly fastened above the printed circuit board, a switch button slidably mounted onto the restraining assembly with a locking post stretching into the restraining assembly, and a connecting member slidably mounted between the restraining assembly and the printed circuit board and further restrained by the restraining assembly. The connecting member has a base board, a plurality of contact portions protruded under the base board, and a locking axle protruded on the base board. The locking axle is inserted into the restraining assembly and then locked to a bottom end of the locking post so that the connecting member can be driven to slide in a restrained range by the restraining assembly through smoothly pushing the switch button so as to make the contact portions electrically contact the corresponding pads of the printed circuit board.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a signal input device for an electronic product, and more particularly to a joystick controller adapted for a notebook computer, a mobile phone, a video game and the like.

2. The Related Art

At present, joystick controllers have been widely used in electronic products, such as notebook computers, mobile phones and video games, to control the movement of a cursor or an image on a monitor. A conventional joystick controller generally includes a shell which is used to receive electronic and mechanical parts therein, and a lever mounted in the shell with a top end thereof stretching out of the shell. There is a sensor disposed on a bottom of the joystick controller. In use, the lever is firstly shaken at a certain angle, and then the sensor senses a shake displacement of the lever and further transforms the shake displacement into a corresponding displacement signal so as to control the movement of the cursor or the image on the monitor.

However, with the miniaturization of the electronic products, the joystick controller is also miniaturized more and more with a tiny lever. As a result, the tiny lever is apt to be damaged under the repeated shaking that shortens the use life of the joystick controller. Furthermore, a slight shake displacement may happen when the tiny lever is shaken. As a result, it causes that the slight shake displacement may not be sensed by the sensor or is sensed by the sensor with a bias. As a result, the conventional joystick controller has an insensitive controlling to the movement of the cursor or the image on the monitor. Therefore, a joystick controller capable of overcoming the foregoing problems is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a joystick controller. The joystick controller includes a printed circuit board which defines a plurality of pads thereon spaced from one another, a restraining assembly fastened above the printed circuit board, a switch button slidably mounted onto the restraining assembly with a locking post stretching into the restraining assembly, and a connecting member which is slidably mounted between the restraining assembly and the printed circuit board and further restrained by the restraining assembly. The connecting member has a base board, a plurality of contact portions protruded under the base board and spaced from one another, and a locking axle protruded on the base board. The locking axle is inserted into the restraining assembly and then locked to a bottom end of the locking post of the switch button so that the connecting member can be driven to slide in a restrained range by the restraining assembly through smoothly pushing the switch button so as to make the contact portions electrically contact the corresponding pads of the printed circuit board.

As described above, the joystick controller of the present invention can achieve many kinds of connections between the contact portions of the connecting member and the pads of the printed circuit board by means of smoothly pushing the switch button to drive the connecting member to slide in the restrained range by the restraining assembly on the printed circuit board, instead of shaking a lever in the prior art. So the joystick controller has a longer use life. Furthermore, the movement of the cursor or image on the monitor is controlled by means of the contact portions contacting the corresponding pads, instead of a sensor sensing a shake displacement of the lever in the prior art. Therefore, the joystick controller can achieve a more sensitive and reliable controlling to the movement of the cursor or image on the monitor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following description, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional perspective view of a joystick controller in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the joystick controller of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a switch button of the joystick controller of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is another perspective view of the switch button of the joystick controller of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a connecting member of the joystick controller of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a shell of the joystick controller of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a restraining body of the joystick controller of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a printed circuit board of the joystick controller of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 are views showing that the joystick controller of FIG. 1 is in use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a joystick controller of the present invention includes a printed circuit board 7, a connecting member 2, a restraining assembly 8, and a switch button 1 capable of driving the connecting member 2 to slide in a restrained range by the restraining assembly 8 on the printed circuit board 7. A top surface of the printed circuit board 7 defines four pairs of pads 71 uniformly arranged into a circle and spaced from one another (shown in FIG. 8).

Referring to FIGS. 2-4, the switch button 1 includes a disc-shaped top board 10, a disc-shaped bottom board 12 parallel to and spaced from the top board 10, and a connecting pillar 11 vertically connected between the top board 10 and the bottom board 12. A middle of the bottom board 12 protrudes oppositely to the connecting pillar 11 to form a columned locking post 13 with a locking structure being defined at a free end thereof. The locking structure includes a polygonal locking cavity 131 opened in a middle of a free end surface of the locking post 13, and a plurality of locking fillisters 132 uniformly opened in inner walls of the locking cavity 131 and further penetrating outward through the locking post 13.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, the connecting member 2 has a base board 21 disposed levelly. A peripheral edge of the base board 21 uniformly protrudes outward to form four connecting arms 22 symmetrically arranged and spaced from one another. A bottom surface of each of the connecting arms 22 protrudes downward to form a hemispheric contact portion 23. A middle of the base board 21 protrudes upward to form a pillared locking axle 24 with two polygonal end surfaces. Each corner of a top end of the locking axle 24 is cut away to form a buckling corner 25 corresponding to the locking fillister 132 of the switch button 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the restraining assembly 8 includes a shell 3, an elastic component 4, a restraining body 5 and two slide members 6. The shell 3 has a polygonal top plate 31 and a plurality of side plates 32 extended downward from peripheral edges of the top plate 31. The side plates 32 are connected with one another to define a receiving chamber 34 thereamong. There is a circular hole 33 opened in a middle of the top plate 31. The restraining body 5 is of polygonal board shape corresponding to the receiving chamber 34 of the shell 3. A middle of a bottom surface of the restraining body 5 defines a square restraining cavity 52 of which a middle further extends upward to penetrate through a top surface of the restraining body 5 to form a circular guiding window 51 with the same diameter as the hole 33 of the shell 3. Each of the slide members 6 is of rectangular board shape with a rectangular slide chute 61 opened in a middle along a longwise direction thereof. The length of the slide member 6 is equal to the side length of the restraining cavity 52. In this embodiment, the elastic component 4 is a spring of Archimedes spiral shape.

Referring to FIGS. 1-8 again, during assembly, the switch button 1 is mounted on the shell 3 with the locking post 13 passing through the hole 33 to stretch into the receiving chamber 34 and the bottom board 12 being against the top plate 31. The elastic component 4 is received in the receiving chamber 34 of the shell 3 and further worn around the locking post 13 of the switch button 1 against the side plates 32 so as to keep the locking post 13 positioned at a center of the hole 33 when not in use and provide a repositioning elastic force for the switch button 1 after using. The restraining body 5 is buckled in the receiving chamber 34 of the shell 3 and abuts against the side plates 32 with the guiding window 51 facing the hole 33. The elastic component 4 is further clipped between the restraining body 5 and the top plate 31 of the shell 3. The two slide members 6 are perpendicularly and slidably disposed in the restraining cavity 52 of the restraining body 5 with overlapped parts of the two slide chutes 61 facing the guiding window 51. Then the connecting member 2 is slidably received in the receiving chamber 34 of the shell 3 under the restraining body 5 and the slide members 6 by means of the locking axle 24 successively passing upward through the overlapped parts of the two slide chutes 61 and the guiding window 51 to be locked under the locking post 13 of the switch button 1, wherein the top end of the locking axle 24 is locked in the locking cavity 131 of the locking post 13 and the buckling corners 25 are buckled in the corresponding locking fillisters 132. In the embodiment, the locking axle 24 has a square cross-section with the same side length as the width of the slide chute 61 of the slide member 6. Therefore, the locking axle 24 can just slide under the restrained range of the slide chutes 61 and the guiding window 51.

Referring to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the printed circuit board 7 is further received in the shell 3 to be mounted under the connecting member 2 so that the connecting member 2 can slide in the restrained range by the restraining assembly 8 on the printed circuit board 7 by means of pushing the switch button 1 so as to make two of the contact portions 23 electrically contact corresponding two pads 71. For example, when adjacent two of the contact portions 23 contact corresponding adjacent two pads 71, the other two adjacent contact portions 23 will not contact another two adjacent pads 71; when opposite two of the contact portions 23 contact corresponding relative two pads 71, the other two opposite contact portions 23 will not contact another two relative pads 71. In the embodiment, the joystick controller can make the connecting member 2 achieve eight slide directions by means of pushing the switch button 1, that are rear, front, left, right, right-rear, right-front, left-rear and left-front directions, wherein two representative slide directions, such as rear and left-rear directions, will be described in detail as following.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 9 again, push the top board 10 of the switch button 1 rearward so as to drive the connecting member 2 to slide rearward. Accordingly, adjacent two of the contact portions 23 electrically contact corresponding two adjacent pads 71 respectively so as to control a corresponding movement of an external cursor or image on a monitor.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 10 again, push the top board 10 of the switch button 1 leftward and then rearward so as to drive the connecting member 2 to slide leftward and then rearward. Accordingly, the opposite side of two of the contact portions 23 electrically contacts the corresponding two pads 71 respectively so as to control another corresponding movement of the cursor or image on the monitor.

As described above, the joystick controller of the present invention can achieve many kinds of connections between the contact portions 23 of the connecting member 2 and the pads 71 of the printed circuit board 7 by means of pushing the switch button 1 to drive the connecting member 2 to slide in the restrained range by the restraining assembly 8 on the printed circuit board 7, instead of shaking a lever in the prior art. So the joystick controller has a longer use life. Furthermore, the movement of the cursor or image on the monitor is controlled by means of the contact portions 23 contacting the corresponding pads 71, instead of a sensor sensing a shake displacement of the lever in the prior art. Therefore, the joystick controller can achieve a more sensitive and reliable controlling to the movement of the cursor or image on the monitor. Moreover, the elastic component 4 can provide a repositioning elastic force to make the switch button 1 and the connecting member 2 repositioned when not in use. 

1. A joystick controller, comprising: a printed circuit board defining a plurality of pads thereon spaced from one another; a restraining assembly fastened above the printed circuit board; a switch button slidably mounted onto the restraining assembly with a locking post stretching into the restraining assembly; and a connecting member slidably mounted between the restraining assembly and the printed circuit board and further restrained by the restraining assembly, the connecting member having a base board, a plurality of contact portions protruded under the base board and spaced from one another, and a locking axle protruded on the base board, the locking axle being inserted into the restraining assembly and then locked to a bottom end of the locking post of the switch button so that the connecting member can be driven to slide in a restrained range by the restraining assembly through smoothly pushing the switch button so as to make the contact portions electrically contact the corresponding pads of the printed circuit board.
 2. The joystick controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the contact portions have four uniformly arranged into a circle, and the pads are designated as four pairs uniformly arranged into a circle, when adjacent or opposite two of the contact portions contact corresponding adjacent or relative two of the pads, the other two adjacent or opposite contact portions will not contact another two adjacent or relative pads.
 3. The joystick controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein a peripheral edge of the base board of the connecting member uniformly protrudes outward to form a plurality of connecting arms symmetrically arranged and spaced from one another, each of the contact portions is protruded under one corresponding connecting arm.
 4. The joystick controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bottom end of the locking post of the switch button defines a locking structure which includes a polygonal locking cavity opened in a bottom end surface of the locking post and a plurality of locking fillisters opened in inner walls of the locking cavity, the locking axle of the connecting member has a polygonal cross-section and each corner of a top end thereof is cut away to form a buckling corner, the top end of the locking axle is locked in the locking cavity of the locking post and the buckling corners are buckled in the corresponding locking fillisters.
 5. The joystick controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the switch button includes a top board, a bottom board parallel to and spaced from the top board, and a connecting pillar connected between the top board and the bottom board, the locking post is protruded oppositely to the connecting pillar under the bottom board, the bottom board is slidably disposed on the restraining assembly.
 6. The joystick controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the restraining assembly includes a shell, a restraining body and two slide members, the shell has a top plate with a hole opened therein, a plurality of side plates are extended downward from peripheral edges of the top plate and connected with one another to define a receiving chamber thereamong, the restraining body is fastened in the receiving chamber of the shell and defines a square restraining cavity in a bottom surface thereof and a guiding window in a top surface thereof which communicates with a middle of the restraining cavity and further faces the hole of the shell, each of the slide members is of rectangular shape with a slide chute opened therein along a longwise direction thereof, the length of the slide member is equal to the side length of the restraining cavity, the two slide members are perpendicularly and slidably disposed in the restraining cavity of the restraining body with overlapped parts of the two slide chutes facing the guiding window, the locking post of the switch button passes through the hole to stretch into the receiving chamber, and the locking axle of the connecting member successively passes upward through the overlapped parts of the two slide chutes and the guiding window to be locked to the bottom end of the locking post.
 7. The joystick controller as claimed in claim 6, wherein the locking axle of the connecting member has a square cross-section with the same side length as the width of the slide chute of the slide member so as to make the locking axle just slide under restraining of the slide chutes and the guiding window but not rotate.
 8. The joystick controller as claimed in claim 6, wherein the restraining assembly further includes an elastic component which is clipped between the restraining body and the top plate of the shell and further worn around the locking post of the switch button against the side plates so as to provide a repositioning elastic force for the switch button.
 9. The joystick controller as claimed in claim 8, wherein the elastic component is a spring of Archimedes spiral shape. 